Kinetic Construction

A single nylon thread is placed in front of repeated lines, so this work seems to shift as the viewer moves in front of it. The fine black lines are about the same width as the thread, so the differentiation between the two planes is subtle, at first almost indistinguishable.

The creation of this work followed what is known as Soto’s Baroque period between 1957 and 1962. During that period, he overlaid moiré patterns with found materials, creating complex relationships. Piège de lumière (Light Trap) is a much simpler exploration of the relationship between two planes.

The simplicity of this work allowed it to be produced as a multiple by Edition MAT (multiplication d’art transformable). Edition MAT was established by Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri in Paris in 1959. They made affordable and domestically scaled multiples that encouraged the participation of the viewer. Soto’s edition was based on an original in which the background lines were white on black, but in the multiple they are black on white. Another edition is in the collection at Tate (T03770).

Soto is known as a pioneer in Venezualan Op Art. He had been associated with kinetic art since 1955 when he was included in the ground-breaking exhibition, Le Mouvement (The Movement) at Galerie Denise René. Like the present work, Soto’s works in the exhibition did not move, but appeared to move through optical effects. He did later create kinetic constructions.

Sainsbury Centre has known this work as Kinetic Construction, but it is more widely known as Piège de lumière (Light Trap).

Tania Moore, June 2023